Fun with hot water heater

[gusherb]

The Bradfords come with a brass drain valve as standard. Not sure about the Anode rod though. Extended warranties on those are just an extended warranty - no different model numbers or added features.

Ben, I've heard a lot of plumbers complaining about Bradfords only making it 3-6 years tops within the last several years. I have two in service one at grandmas house and one at dads building that are 7 years old and no problems yet knock on wood. Plan on replacing the one here with a 75 gallon Bradford.
Yours is electric though right? That should last even longer.

 

[washman]

Yes gusherb

220v electric with an efficiency factor of .95. Like the non union Goodman AC, it is the last one BW made before the 2015 DOE regs upped the eff ratings.

I plan this spring to drain off some bottom water and see how much muck is in there.

 

[sudsmaster]

How to turn a six year basic water heater into a 12 year or longer model...

 

 

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/the-best-water-heater.html

 

[warmsecondrinse]

Ah, got it. Heat Reclaimers inserted into the flue were around briefly, IIRC, but the lower temps of the exhaust gasses caused some kind of problem down the line. I don't remember but since we're talking about gas I assume condensation somewhere.

"Foundation vents"? I assume we're talking about a crawl space? I'm not familiar with them. I grew up in the North east where every house had a cellar. The only exceptions were a few 1960's developments with ranch houses built on slabs and had radiant floor heat.

I'm intrigued though... What's the point of the 1" gap above and below the windows? What is the point of enclosing a living space without sealing it? And where is the line between the two from the perspective of a builder or housing inspector. You're talking to someone who's spent his whole life (save 1 year in Port St. Lucie, FL) in the Boston-NYC Corridor.

Thanks for the info and sorry for geeking out on you with all the questions

Jim

 

[warmsecondrinse]

"Like the non union Goodman AC, ..."

This reminds me. Know how HRC puts out a yearly list of companies with grades regarding how discriminatory or not a company is in it's policies and general enforcement thereof?

Is there a similar list for union vs non-union companies? I'm pro-union enough that if I narrowed a major purchase down to 2 items the union one would get my $$, all other things being semi-equal. Becoming more pro-union the older I get, though.

Anyone know of such list.

Thanks,

Jim

 

[sudsmaster]

The enclosed patio is not intended as a living space. It's a semi-indoor-outdoor room for spring/summer/fall entertaining.

 

Most older homes in this area have raised first floors over perhaps a yard high crawl space. The crawl space floor is usually dirt. The foundation vents are required to vent moisture from the earth so it doesn't adversely affect the living quarters above. Later construction tends to be built on concrete slabs, which have their pro's and con's. The biggest drawback of slabs is when the plumbing is encased in them, making fixing plumbing problems that much more difficult. In a crawl space, the plumbing is usually attached under the first floor, and can be accessed from within the crawl space. I understand some slab type homes put the plumbing in the ceiling, except of course for the drains. I guess that makes it easier to access but makes leaks more problematic. Very few homes here have full basements. Some have half basements, which are contiguous with the aforementioned crawl space, and seem generally to be used for easier placement of space heaters or hot water heaters, etc. And usually they depend on a sump pump to stay dry in the winter.

 

 

[sudsmaster]

Woo-woo. The long cardboard tube arrived today via UPS. Inside were two 44" long magnesium anode rods. They look nice. Unfortunately I'm currently battling a cold that has turned into a nagging cough/laryngitis, so it will be a while before I get around to draining the water heater again, remove the old anode rod (last replaced in 2011), and send a camera probe down there to see what's up inside, and then put in the new rod.

 

In any case I've noticed that since the draining and flushing, the water heater seems to be working better, and more quietly. Used to be it would be firing up whenever the dishwasher was on. Now it seems not to do that so much, and when it does, it's not quite such an alarming thumping.

 

I've already tested the camera on a 40 gallon six year GE heater a neighbor gave me when he sold his house (he replaced it with a new one to help with the sale). The anode rod on that one shows very little erosion. When I looked inside, it looked very nice, no rust, not much scale, but some curious chunks of something around the periphery of the domed bottom. I'll probably pull the drain and see if I can coax whatever it is out of there. I'm thinking this water heater would be a good addition to the workshop, where it could finally enable the vintage top loaders and non-heater equipped Frigidaire front loader to have hot water. Or I might just keep it around as an emergency spare for when the 39 year old Monkey Ward tank finally fails.

 

 

 

[askolover]

another interesting water heater

link below.  I know nothing about them either. 

I have a 10 year old gas GE sold at HD.  A year or so ago I had to replace the T & P valve because it just started drip drip dripping.  While I had it drained I replaced the plastic drain valve with a brass ball valve that's fully open inside so that any larger sediment particles can flush right out.  Knock wood I've never had any problems with the pilot going out and the water is always hot.  It never comes on unless I've used hot water.  The previous heater would thump and bump when it was heating, I'm sure it was minerals in the bottom as it was here when I bought the house...this one has only had softened water in it.  Thought about going tankless until I found that same website above (waterheaterrescue) and quickly changed my mind. 

http://www.americanwaterheaternews.com/new_products/polaris.htm

 

[sudsmaster]

A tankless gas heater would actually make more sense in the workshop, since it would be so infrequently used. A few years ago OSH had a sale on small scale Bosch tankless units and I almost got one, but I had some concerns about the size the gas pipe going into the shop and I think even though the Bosch was on the smaller end of the tankless scale, its instructions stipulated a 1" minimum size gas supply. That and some other water supply/venting issues made me hesitate. For now the Miele washers work just fine back there, since they have built-in water heaters.

 

All this was also before I read of the scale issues with tankless, although the water here is naturally relatively soft. But I suppose one might also wonder why the Bosch units were being heavily discounted at the time.